The municipality consists of several islands located southwest of the city of Bergen. The municipality is considered to be among the ports in the world with the largest ocean-going fishing trawler fleet. Since the 1980s, the offshore oil industry and fish farming industry have both grown to be important industries in Austevoll.

The municipality is the 369th largest by area out of the 422 municipalities in Norway. Austevoll is the 196th most populous municipality in Norway with a population of 5,156. The municipality's population density is and its population has increased by 17.5% over the last decade.